Changeable sign



Sept. I1, 1956 G. E. SWEETNAM CHANGEABLE SIGN Filed April :5. 1955 5 -Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VENTOR ATTORNEYS p 11, 1956 G. E. SWEETNAM 2,762,147

CHANGEABLE SIGN INVENTOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 3. 1953 Geo? 83314426272836 BY%MQ Mid/1w M ATTORNEYS Sept. 11, 1956 G. E. SWEETNAM CHANGEABLE SIGN s Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 3. 1953 INVENTOR Geoi'ye .5: 3/4 6627? 87? ATTORNEY-5 P Patented Sephll, 1956 2,762,147 CHANGEABLE SIGN George E. Sweetnam, Chicago, 111. Application April 3, 1953, Serial No. 346,663 7 Claims. (Cl. 40139) The following specification relates to a novel display sign for advertising purposes. With this, illustrative designs can be arranged as signs or displays incorporating changeable features that are altered periodically. This idea can be extended so that two separate changing impressions are given, both correlated to a single dominating thought.

One of the purposes of this invention is to provide a display sign with separate parts alternating between two positions thus varying the optical eflFect by exposing more or less of a picture and at the same time indicating a corresponding change in meaning or effect.

It is a further object of my invention to arrange a display sign having two cordinated parts one of which supplements the other and thus provides a combined unitary effect.

A still further object of my invention is to provide a display sign adapted to illustrate an article of commerce having a characteristic movement associated with it and in conjunction a supplemental movable device operable in concert with the assocaited movement of the article. For example, the representation of a toaster in which a slice of toast is brought into view can be coordinated with the simultaneous increase in a sign of movable letters.

Again the invention may be embodied as a representation of a package from the top of which an article such as a tissue paper handkerchief is brought into view simultaneously with the back and forth movement of a reaching hand.

Incidental to the invention is the provision of a simple mechanical movement for such a display sign adapted for moving the parts of the sign in unison.

The accompanying drawings illustrate two examples of the preferred form in which the invention may be embodied.

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a changeable sign with movable panels in contracted form.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation with the back removed showing the movable panels extended;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial horizontal cross-section n the line 4- 4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a second modification and Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the same.

Generally described, the invention comprises a stand having a vertical frame exhibiting lettering which may be altered to increase or diminish the size and appearance of the individual letters, while at the same time some article with which the lettering is associated will be brought into view more or less simultaneous with the appropriate change in lettering.

Thus Fig. 1 illustrates panels combined to form letering which may be enlarged at will. In conjunction with this is shown an article of commerce in which a part is also shifted in position to bring more or less of it into view. The specific example is of an electric toaster, and pieces of toast are raised into View at the same time that lettering such as TOAST MAKER is caused to change with increase in the size of the letters.

A stand 8 is provided having a front 9. suitably ornamented to give the perspective of a table top 10 and a rear frame 11. Representations of suitable articles are also indicated on the top 10. These may be This front is an electric toaster 12, a plate 13 and a cup with saucer 14. The frame 11 has a front opening through which the lettered panels are visible.

A central, fixed panel 15 is mounted on the rear frame of vertical guides 16 and 17. These guides have suitable tracks in front of the panel 15.

An upper movable panel 18 moves vertically in the tracks of the guides 16 and 17.

It is desired to operate the slides 18 and 19 simultaneously in opposite directions to partially obscure or reveal the fixed panel. For this purpose the rear of the fixed panel 15 carries a pivot stud 20. A rock arm 21 is mounted at its mid portion on the stud 20 and adapted to oscillate. One end of the rock arm 21 is connected by link 22 to a stud 23 on the upper slide 18. The stud 23 is a two-part member such as is used in a glove fastening, having a resilient collar on the link 22 and a receiving head on the slide 18.

The opposite end of the rock arm 21 has a link 24 running to a similar stud fastening 25 on the lower slide 19. The links 22 and 24 are preferably of equal length.

The pivot studs 26 and 27 at opposite ends of the rock arm 21 are also of the common glove fastener type.

A connecting rod 28 is pivotally connected to the stud 27 and extends downwardly.

The stand 8 has a back 29 which extends vertically and parallel to the front 9. The back 29 serves as a mounting for a bracket 30 which may be attached by means of clips 31.

The bracket 30 supports a motor 32. This may be either a synchronous electric motor, a spring-operated mechanism, or a pneumatically operated motor. The shaft 33 of the motor extends forwardly and has a crank 34. A glove fastening stud 35 provides pivotal connection between the link 28 and the crank 34.

The lower slide 19 has a' lateral extension 36. The upper end of this extension represents in form and appearance two slices of toast as they would appear in the toaster 12. It will be evident that as the slide 19 moves 36 will be brought into view clusion of the toasting operation.

Back of the frame 11 and spaced therefrom is the representation of a coffee pot 37.

Referring again to rear panel 15 has been lettered to show the greater ortion of the letters TOAST MAKER. This representation is of the middle portion of the letters only. Here, these mid-portions of the letters are extended both above and the lower slide 19. The slides are arranged to carry the upper and lower portions of the letters along the edges of the slides.

When the crank 34 is in its uppermost position, the edges of the slides 18 lettering appears as shown in Fig. 1. When, however, the crank 34 is extendedin its lowest position, the slides 18 and 19 are separated to expose a greater amount of the back panel 15. The ends of the letters are thus separated, and more of the back panel with its intermediate portions of the letters is exposed. This is represented by the dotted lines appearing on Fig.

1. It will also be apparent that the reduction in height.

of the individual lettering is simultaneous with the movement of the slides 18 and 19 toward each other. In other words, the height of the letters is reduced to what is shown in Fig. 1 at the moment when the representation of the toast is brought into View.

This conjoint operation of lettering and article move- '-ment can be applied to numerous illustrative designs.

Fig. 1 it will be seen that the and 19 are close together, and the 1 Thus, in Figs. and 6, I have shown the lettering to be vertically extendable simultaneous with the raising into view of a sheet of tissue paper. Here the front 38 of the display has a panel 39. The front is also decorated to show a box 40 with an open top.-

The rear of the front 38 has a pair of guides 41, 42 providing a vertical track. The guides are connected by a fixed'panel 43-.

The panel 39 is decorated to represent at 44 the lower half of an opening and to show the lower portions of the desired letters. a

A movable slide 45 travels vertically in the tracks of the guides 41 and 42 and is visible through the opening in the panel 39. This slide has the upper portions of the letters appearing on the area 44.

A rock arm 46 is mounted at its mid-portion on the stud fastening 47 fixed on panel 43 and this permits the armto oscillate freely.

Qne end of the arm 46 is connected by link 48 to the slide 45. Similar glove fastenings 49 and 50 provide suitable pivot points for the link 48.

The opposite end of the rock arm is connected by a link 50 to a pivot51 on a crank 52. The crank 52 is fixed on a motor shaft 53 which may be operated by spring clockwork, electrically or pneumatically.

Pivot 54 connects the lower end of the link 50 to one end of the rock arm 46. The pivots 51 and 54 are of the stud-and-collar variety above described.

The link 50 is extended laterally as shown at 55 to represent an outstretched hand. In the combined rocking and vertical movement of the link 50 in one direction, the hand 55 is retracted partially back of the front 38 and elevated. In the opposite direction it is advanced into view to a greater extent and lowered toward the box 40.

The slide 45 has a lateral extension 56 of which the upper end 57 represents a sheet of tissue paper projecting from the opening in the box 40.

When the crank 52 rotates to extend and lower the hand 55, the linkage 48 will raise the slide 45. This will result in raising the extension 56 and projecting portion 57 out of the box 40. At the same time,'the slide 45 rising through the window 39 will expose more of the upper ends of the'lettering, as shown in dotted lines on Fig. .5. Thus the change in the form of the letters is simultaneous with the presentation vertically of the tissue and .the grasping movement'of the hand 55.

While I have described and illustrated in detail the preferred form of the invention by way of example, it is also evident that minor changes in specific details including representation of articles and proportions of the moving parts may asdefined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In combination, astand having a vertical frame with an opening, vertical track members behind said frame and aligned with the sides of said opening, a fixed display panel carried on said track members, a display slide movable along said track members in front of said fixed panel to partially obscure the latter, a rock arm pivoted on the fixed panel, a rotatable shaft mounted in the. rear of said stand, a crank on said shaft, a connecting arm connecting the crank with one end of the rock arm, and a link connecting an end of the rock arm with the movable slide.

2. In combination, a stand having a vertical frame with an opening and a lateral extension, vertical track members behind said frame and aligned with the sides of' said opening, a fixed display panel carried on said track members, a display slide movable along said track members in front of said fixed panel, said movable slide having a lateral extension normally behind the extension of the frame, a rock arm pivoted on the fixed panel, a rotatable shaft mounted in the rear of said stand, a crank on said shaft, a connecting arm connecting the crank with one end of the rock arm, and a link connecting an end of the rock arm with the movable slide for simultaneously be made within the scope of the invention 4.- raising the movable slide and exposing the lateral extension of the movable slide.

3. In combination, a stand having a vertical frame with an opening, vertical track members behind said frame and aligned with the sides of said opening, a fixed display panel carried onsaid track members, a display slide movable along said track members in front of said fixed panel to partiflly obscure the latter, a rock arm pivoted on said fixed panel, a rotatable shaft mounted in aligned with the sides the rock arm with each movable slide,

the rear of said stand, a crank on said shaft, a connecting arm connecting the crank. with one end of the rock arm and a link connecting the opposite end of the rock arm. with the movable slide.

4. In combination, a stand having a vertical frame with an opening and a lateral extension, vertical track members behind said frame and aligned with the sides of said opening, a fixed display panel carried on said track members, a display slide movable along said track members in front of said fixed panel to partially obscure the latter, said movable slide having a lateral extension normally behind the extension of the frame, a rock arm pivoted on said fixed panel, a rotatable shaft mounted inthe rear of said stand, a crank on said shaft, a connecting arm connecting the crank with one end of the rock arm, said connecting arm having a lateral extension above the frame extension, and a link connecting the opposite end of the rock arm with the movable slide for simultaneously moving the slide and its extension in a directionopposite the movement of the extension on the connecting arm.

5. In combination, a stand having a vertical frame with an opening, vertical track members behind said frame and aligned with the sides of said opening, a fixed display panel carried on said track members, a pair of display. slides movable along said track members in front of said fixed panel to partially obscure the latter, a rock arm pivoted on the fixed panel, links connecting the ends of the rock arm with each movable slide, a connecting arm pivoted to one end of the rock arm and motor means mounted on the stand for operating the connecting arm.

6. In combination, a stand having a vertical frame with an opening, vertical track members behind said frame and of said opening, a fixed display panel carried on said track members, a pair of display slides movable along said track members in front of said fixed panel to partially obscure the latter, a rock arm pivoted on said fixed panel, links connecting the ends of a connecting arm pivoted to one end of the rock arm, a vertical back for the stand, a bracket on the back, a rotary motor onthe bracket and a crank on the motor pivoted to the connecting arm.

7. In combination, a stand having a vertical frame with an opening and a lateral extension, vertical track members behind said frame and aligned with the sidesof said opening, a fixed display panel carried on said track members, a pair of display slides movable along said track members in front of said fixed panel to partially obscure the latter, a rock arm pivoted on said fixed panel, links connecting the ends of the rock arm with each movable'slide, motor means mounted on the stand for operating the connecting arm and a lateral extension on the lower slide normally behind the lateral extension. of the frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

